Multipliers tool-kit
INA VAN HOYE
29 JANUARY 2014
Ready-to-use articles
Article on the EIP-AGRI network ..................................................................................................... 1
Article 250 words on EIP-AGRI Service Point ................................................................................... 3
Article 500 words on EIP-AGRI Service Point ................................................................................... 3
Press article on workshop ‘Operational Groups under RD programmes’ ............................................. 4
Article on the EIP-AGRI network
update 29 january 2015
The EIP AGRI
Europe 2020 is the EU’s growth strategy for the coming decade. In a changing world, the EU
economy needs to become smart, sustainable and inclusive. This strategy underlines the importance
of research and innovation to prepare Europe for future challenges.
Within this context, the European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) were established as a new approach
to advance EU research and innovation. EIPs are challenge-driven, focusing on societal benefits and
rapid modernisation. They should provide favorable conditions for research and innovation partners to
co-operate and achieve better and faster results.
So far, five EIPs have been launched in different sectors: active & healthy ageing, water, raw
materials, smart cities & communities and agriculture. Each EIP has tailor-made goals and the main
objective of the EIP “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” (EIP-AGRI) is to build bridges
between research and farming practice. It focusses on needs from the ‘field’ to foster competitive and
sustainable farming and forestry, achieving more with less input.
The interaction between stakeholders from across the whole supply chain and within the scientific
community is crucial to the success of the EIP-AGRI. It is essential that together they share ideas and
experiences in order to develop innovative solutions and research results which are ready for
application. Therefore, the EIP-AGRI focuses on forming partnerships, using bottom-up approaches
and linking all actors, applying an “interactive innovation model”.
The EIP-AGRI will work as a catalyst to boost the flow of information and foster the exchange of
knowledge and experience across projects, sectors and borders. It will interlink innovation actors
including farmers, advisors, agri-businesses, researchers and civil society, constituting a network – the
EIP-AGRI Network.
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READY-TO-USE ARTICLES UPDATE 29 JANUARY 2015
A Service Point for the EIP-AGRI
The EIP-AGRI Service Point acts as a mediator within the EIP-AGRI Network, enhancing
communication and cooperation between innovation actors and it organises its work within three
areas of activity:
Sharing knowledge
The EIP-AGRI Service Point offers the actors an online platform where knowledge can be shared at the
Meeting Point and needs from practice for further research can be collected. Moreover, it collects and
shares information on innovation-related policy measures and initiatives, relevant research activities and
results, funding opportunities and lessons learnt in practice-oriented projects. The EIP-AGRI website
aims to become the ‘one-stop-shop’ for agricultural innovation in the EU with upcoming events,
publications, calls for Focus Groups or general information on EIP-AGRI.
The EIP-AGRI Service Point interacts with different groups, players, platforms and networks using
multiple communication channels such as seminars, workshops, publications, websites and social
media.
Tackling challenges
The EIP-AGRI is a vehicle to put farmers' R&D needs on research agendas. The EIP-AGRI Service
Point collects research needs from practice, facilitating knowledge sharing and searching for
innovative solutions to address key challenges.
One of the main tools to kick start the sharing of innovative solutions within specific fields is the
Focus groups: groups of 20 researchers, farmers, advisors and other stakeholders work together to
share knowledge and practical experience to boost innovation within a very specific field. An example
is the focus group on soil organic matter content in Mediterranean regions where
participants worked together between 2014 and 2015 to find out how the soil organic matter content
in these regions can be improved in a cost-effective way and what new solutions for securing soil
functionality and soil fertility can be proposed in this regard.
Connecting people
Innovation starts with bringing people together to generate inspiration. The EIP-AGRI aims to link
innovative projects carried out by Operational Groups of farmers, advisors, researchers and others
solving practical problems or testing innovative ideas with national Rural Development programme
funding, thematic networks , partners involved in multi-actor projects funded by the EU Horizon 2020
Research programme, and other groups working on innovation. To trigger this process, the EIP-AGRI
Service Point organises face-to-face meetings, provides web-based exchange and information, social
media and other means of communication to bring actors together.
For more information visit the EIP-AGRI website www.eip-agri.eu and subscribe to the EIP-AGRI
monthly newsletter, follow the Service Point on Twitter or join the LinkedIn Group. By registering to the
EIP-AGRI website you become a member of the EIP-AGRI Network: ready to share and search.
You can download general brochures on various topics such as Horizon 2020, Innovation Support
Services, Operational Groups under Rural Development, the EIP-AGRI Service Point and the EIP-AGRI
network. Topical brochures on Organic Farming, Reducing antibiotics in pig farming, Forestry,… are
available as well.
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Article 250 words on EIP-AGRI Service Point
update 29 January 2015
Innovating agriculture through cross-sector partnerships
The EIP-AGRI Service Point builds bridges to connect science and practice
To secure a sustainable and productive future, EU agriculture needs innovation. Early 2013, the
European Commission set up the EIP-AGRI Service Point to help address this challenge by connecting
people and facilitating innovation and knowledge-exchange in the European Innovation Partnership
network. Pacôme Elouna Eyenga, team leader EIP-AGRI Service Point explains: “By forming
partnerships, using bottom-up approaches and linking all actors such as farmers, researchers, advisors,
businesses, environmental groups, consumer interest groups and other NGOs, a strong EIP-AGRI
network can help to reach our goal”.
The EIP-AGRI website aims to become the ‘one-stop-shop’ for agricultural innovation in the EU with
questions on funding opportunities, upcoming events, publications, calls for Focus Groups or general
information on EIP-AGRI and a modular interactive online platform.
For more information please visit the EIP-AGRI website www.eip-agri.eu and subscribe to the EIPAGRI monthly newsletter, follow the Service Point on Twitter or join the LinkedIn Group . Join
the EIP-AGRI Network and register to the website.
Article 500 words on EIP-AGRI Service Point
update 29 January 2015
Catalysing innovation in agriculture through cross-sector partnerships
The EIP-AGRI Service Point builds bridges to connect science and practice
To secure a sustainable and productive future, agriculture in the EU needs innovation. In early 2013,
the European Commission set up the EIP-AGRI Service Point to help address this challenge by
connecting people and facilitating innovation and knowledge-exchange through the European
Innovation Partnership network.
The idea is to enhance communication and cooperation between all actors: farmers, researchers,
advisors, businesses, environmental groups, consumer interest groups and other NGOs. Exchanging
experiences and sharing information is key. A future EIP-AGRI networking success might be that a Greek
manufacturer of agricultural appliances adapts a machine in cooperation with a Belgian farmer to
enhance productivity. The goal is to achieve quick exchanges of information between networks of all
types of agricultural stakeholders. Juan Castro Insua, Director of CIAM, a public research centre in
Galicia, Spain, is an agronomist researcher: “Our centre strives to value manure as a resource and not
as waste. We teach that it has to be handled as fertiliser, a way to help to save money, without the big
issue of nitrate-contaminated water. If we can tell other European farmers and researchers to help
tackle the same kind of problem by simply using the EIP-AGRI Service Point services, it would be great
progress”.
The EIP-AGRI Service Point is creating an online platform that can be used to share and exchange
information with others. Information on EIP operational groups, research projects, innovation actions
and initiatives, research needs from practice and online sources of information will all be available via
this website. Pacôme Elouna Eyenga, team leader for the EIP-AGRI Service Point states “Many people
have interesting ideas for innovation but often find it challenging to find the right partners to set up
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their concrete project. The EIP-AGRI website will help in doing just that. Of course, we need all of the
people involved to help to build these networks and platforms: it will only be as strong as the total sum
of its participants”.
The EIP-AGRI website aims to become the ‘one-stop-shop’ for agricultural innovation in the EU with
questions on funding opportunities, upcoming events, publications, calls for EIP-AGRI Focus Groups or
general information on EIP-AGRI.
Besides the online platform, Focus Groups gather, summarise and disseminate knowledge on very
specific agricultural topics (for example reducing antibiotics use on pig farms, making protein crops
more competitive in Europe and improving yields in organic arable farming). Focus Groups consist of 20
experts including farmers, advisors, researchers, agri-businesses with different types of background and
experience.
Go to the EIP-AGRI website www.eip-agri.eu and subscribe to the EIP-AGRI monthly newsletter,
follow the Service Point on Twitter or join the LinkedIn Group. You can also download brochures on
various topics such as Horizon 2020, Innovation Support Services, Operational Groups under Rural
Development, the EIP-AGRI Service Point and the EIP-AGRI network.
The EIP-AGRI Service Point also disseminates information and brings different types of actors together
through conferences, seminars or workshops. More information can be found on the EIP-AGRI website
in the section dedicated to EIP-AGRI events.
Press article on workshop ‘Operational Groups under RD programmes’
distributed 27 February 2014
Workshop to promote innovation in European agriculture
Establishing Operational Groups under Rural Development Programmes
The Portuguese National Rural Network (NRN) and the National Authority for the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) hosted, in collaboration with the European
Commission, a workshop on “Establishing Operational Groups under Rural Development Programmes”
in Lisbon on 27 February 2014. Organisations linked to agricultural innovation from Portugal, Spain,
Greece and Malta participated. The workshop gave stakeholders practical information on how to set
up “Operational Groups” which will be working on practical innovation projects with support from
Rural Development funds.
The European Innovation Partnership on “Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability” (EIP-AGRI) aims
to develop competitive and sustainable farming and forestry throughout the EU. One of the most
important approaches used by EIP-AGRI is to encourage the formation of Operational Groups which
involve different types of actors such as farmers, advisors, researchers (amongst others), and target
practical innovation. “Innovation is the key to a modern agriculture within the EU. To create this
innovation, we need practice-oriented solutions to existing problems or opportunities. We want to
inform organisations, farmers, researchers, businesses and other stakeholders about what they need
to do to launch such an innovation project with support from our Rural Development policy” explains
Rob Peters from the European Commission.
“At the workshop, by providing specific examples of what an Operational Group could look like, we
encouraged organisations to find the right partners to pursue the innovation they have in mind” says
Rob Peters. The workshop also focused on identifying practical next steps for organisations that can
actively support the implementation of the EIP-AGRI. These organisations or “EIP multipliers” can
facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience between other potential “multipliers” mainly at
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national/regional and local level, but also at international level. Furthermore, they can promote and
help the setting-up of Operational Groups by spreading the word, providing information and linking
potential partners.
Custódia Correia from the Portuguese NRN confirms: “We are indeed promoting innovation in
agriculture and setting up Operational Groups is an important tool. It is amazing what cooperation and
sharing of knowledge can achieve: for example, in Montejunto which is known for its fruit production,
farmers had problems with a high percentage of damaged fruit. Unfortunately, they were unable to
identify the critical points of damage in different fruit throughout the total production process. A local
network of 32 fruit producers, named Frutus (Central Fruit Montejunto) invited the Centre for Rapid
and Sustainable Product Development Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL-CDRsp) and the National
Operating Technological and Horticultural Centre (COTHN) to find a solution to this problem. They set
up a group to work together to identify and reduce the damage caused by the mishandling of the
fruit. Together they were able to design and manufacture a new electronic fruit (electronic product),
which made it possible to measure the damage caused by impact and compression. They found out
what the critical points in the processing line were and so by adjusting the processing machines, they
could minimise the damage to the fruit. Because the fruit was less damaged, it was higher in quality
ranking and was worth more on the market. The electronic fruit is easily adaptable to the
measurement of damage in other fruit and vegetables.”
This workshop was the first of five to be organised in the EU. Find out the presentations, reports and
background information on the website:
Portugal
Slovenia
Estonia
Czech Republic
France
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